PORTER COACH’S HOME BURNS

Travis Moore, an employee for United Parcel Service and a well known coach in the Porter area lost his family home Monday morning. Moore got off work and went home, and then took his two sons to baseball camp at Porter High School where he remained for almost 20 minutes talking with others. Moore saw several fire trucks with lights and siren running up FM 1314 but never thought anything about it. That was until he got a call from Montgomery County dispatchers inquiring if he was home or anyone was currently in the house. Dispatchers told Moore to return home as a fire had been reported.

In the mean time Porter, New Caney and Caney Creek firefighters were in the process of laying 1,200 feet of fire hose down the middle of Pinewood Drive to the single story brick home with flames shooting out of the roof. Crews immediately went to work on the extremely hot fire as they tried to stop it in the attic. The winds were not in their favor as the fire progressed.

A Porter firefighter was working on the ground near the front of the house when a soffit collapsed falling onto the firefighter. He was taken to Kingwood Hospital in stable condition.

By the time the fire was brought under control the home of Coach Moore, the coach of the Montgomery County Ballers, his wife, two son’s and mother was destroyed. With all the damage , burned photos, trophies collected over the years and other memorabilia, the coach was more concerned about a large sum of cash in the house. Over the weekend one of several fundraisers were held to raise money for the team members and their parents to make the trip to the World Series in which the boys would compete in Pensacola , Florida next month. Moore had not had time to deposit the money from the weekend and had hidden it in his house. The same house that was destroyed.

Moore’s wife lost her 6-month-old dog in the fire.

Suddenly, a firefighter walked out the front door with a large handful of green bills – unburned money- the money from the fundraiser.

Moore’s mother-in-law, Sharon Bailey was just glad her grandsons were alive.

The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire and do believe it started in the attic.

Sharon Bailey said her air conditioner had just started acting up blowing hot air. She also said since last Thursday’s storm he power continued to blink.

Ironically the lightning bolt which struck a utility pole several times and was videoed by MCPR last Thursday was at the entrance to their subdivision.